Just curious as I'm taking the plunge. Was looking to learn pedal steel but the initial outlay is a bit steep. A PSG (pedal steel guitar) player who subs in our country band once in a while suggested I first learn a bit of lap steel (it's a lot cheaper starting out) and that the basic skills (blocking, muting, using the steel, using the expression pedal) are transferable to PSG. I'm waiting for my first lap steel to be delivered some time this week and am as excited as a kid at Christmas.

__________________
_______________________________
Opinions are so variable on nearly every aspect of sound that I'm becoming convinced that asking for opinions yields little useful information and giving an opinion merely invites a debate. Only the ears can decide.
- Denny

I tune to E6, same intervals up 2 steps. Heck of a lot of fun...This thread actually reminded me I gotta get my lap steel chops back up...playing a Hank Williams tribute show after the holidays. I think you'll love it...

I may have to try a DVD. I had a leftover pickup from one of my builds and threw together a lap steel a few months ago.
Thing sounds pretty good.
However... As a resonator player with the sllide-on-the-pinky technique I find the lap steel to be all "backwards".... Trying to mute with the pinkie and holding the steel in thumb and finger...
Also, there's so many tunings.... I did have mine briefly in C6 and it had a nice sound....

i just recently bought an asher electro hawaiian junior lap steel. it is a completely different animal than a "regular" guitar, but, it has finally allowed me to become more of a fingerpicker. i love using the steel but the fingerpicks do take some getting used to.

i'm presently using open d with string guages of 15-58. i love the sound of that huge d. i'd like to try c6 but i'll have to get a different set of strings with a 36 on the bottom first. that is a real county/western swing tuning that i'll eventually have to try.

i have to say that cindy cashdollar and paul franklin are my favorite steel players.

I have a lap steel currently tuned in C6 ... I learned a few things early on but soon got a Resophonic (dobro) in open G and it gripped my total attention ... now that I am getting comfortable with the Reso, I plan to go back to the lap steel one of these days and see if I can really get into it ... I think the techniques I've learned on the Reso will help me tremendously with the lap steel (although as was stated, it is a slightly different ball game) ...

I've played both lap steel and dobro for years. C6 is pretty much the standard tuning for lap steel if you are playing country and certainly has the most teaching material dedicated to it.

That said, a slight warning about trying to translate dobro skills to the lap steel. They are COMPLETELY different. The attack is different, the tuning is different, the bar you use is different, the style is different. The entire approach to the instrument is different. In fact, I had to unlearn a lot of my dobro skills because they did not translate well to lap at all.

After playing lap steel exclusively for the last 5 years, I've recently switched back to dobro and I have to build my wrist muscles up again. You lose all that when playing lap.

funny you should ask. I've been thinking of writing a long post on the advantages of the dobro over the lap steel. I've definitely come to the conclusion that for me, the Dobro is the more interesting instrument.

While there are innovative things being done on the lap steel, I find in general, those interested in lap steel are more focused on the past than dobro players, which results in endless versions of sleepwalk. Dobro players also have the advantage of not having to go through the sturm und drang of picking the number of strings, the tuning, etc. In the end lap is often limited to western swing, hawaiian, and some sacred steel, but very little innovation going on. With Dobro, I feel the opposite: there seems to be constant innovation, blending of genres.

In the end I just preferred an acoustic instrument. One I could play anywhere without having to worry about amps and effects.

Also: I'm compelled to practice dobro, while lap practice was often a chore. With dobro, I can't wait to get to my practice time.